Ekev 5772 - English

by Rabbi Gustavo Kraselnik
Kol Shearith Israel Congregation, Panama.

After watching the movie “The Ten Commandments” dozens of times, it is difficult to imagine a Moses different from Charlton Heston’s immortal characterization. As it occurs with certain classical pictures, we end up convinced that the characters in question were like that all their lives, with the same hairdo, the same hat, or the same attitude.

Moses’ long farewell to this new generation of Israelites who grew up in the wilderness, shows us an elderly leader, already with 120 well ridden years on his back (“…his eyes were undimmed and his vigor unabated” – Deut. 34:7), a life full of ups and downs, he became a great speaker and, above all, he was gifted with an in-depth wisdom, which he tried to pass on to his people.  It is not by chance that Jewish tradition calls him Moshe Rabbeinu, Moses our leader.  (I’m pretty sure that every Jewish child has believed, at some point, that Rabbeinu was Moses’ last name).

The beginning of our parashah offers us a subtle example of that expertise, resulting from his trajectory and accumulation of experiences.  Thus begins Parashat Ekev: “If you listen to these regulations and faithfully obey them…” (Deut. 7:12).

If we pay attention to the order of the verbs (first listen and then do), we find that Moses reversed the famous response given by the people of Israel forty years earlier, at the foot of Mount Sinai, when they proclaimed in answer to God’s words: “Naaseh venishmah”, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded.  We will obey" (Ex. 24:7).

It is possible that the exodus generation, overwhelmed by the transforming events they had experienced, articulated their commitment with the covenant expressing their conviction of immediate action, without needing a previous theoretical understanding of the principles and values reflected in such action.

Nevertheless, beyond all the good wishes and the initial enthusiasm, understandable in those who had repeatedly witnessed divine intervention, the proposal did not work.

The midrash (Midrash Hagadol, Ekev 7:12) affirms that Moses perceived that the Israelites had quickly wandered off from the covenant when they made the golden calf, and therefore understood that his primary role should be to make them understand the action, if he really aspired to achieve responsible behavior from the people.  Hence throughout his speech, he insists on using the verb “To listen”, as a requisite to the observance of the precepts.  (Deut. 4:1, 5:1, 6:3, 11:13, 12:28.)

In that sense, Moses was able to establish an alternate religious model, possibly closer to contemporary praise.  In his mature and adept vision, the religious ideal is not expressed through intellectual submission – “The Man of Faith” mentioned by the Danish philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard, in his “Fear and Trembling” – but rather from our ability to discern the experience’s profound meaning (Shema: understand); the manner in which commitment emerges and only after is translated into action.

Let us follow Moshe Rabbeinu’s ways.

In times of so many fundamentalisms, we might make fundamentals prevail as well.  Let us involve our thoughts and our judgments.  Let us study and analyze, recreating meanings. And may our limited but very authentic understanding become the fertile ground, in which our faith may germinate.

Shabbat shalom,

Gustavo